UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Catch the Rain

Q1. With reference to the stage of groundwater extraction used in India's Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The stage of extraction is measured against the annual extractable resource of a unit rather than its total annual recharge, and the former is the smaller of the two.
  2. Because the stage of extraction is a ratio, the category of an assessment unit can change only if the volume of groundwater pumped in it changes.
  3. An assessment unit is classified as over-exploited when its annual groundwater extraction exceeds its annual extractable resource.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 only

Q2. Consider the following facts: (i) In 2024, India's annual groundwater extraction was about 245.64 BCM and the national stage of extraction was about 60.47%. (ii) Over-exploited assessment units numbered 751 of 6,746 in 2024 and 730 of 6,762 in 2025. (iii) An impact study of Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 1.0 estimated, using rainfall data, about 2.43 BCM of groundwater recharge from its structures. Which of the following inferences can validly be drawn from the above facts?

  1. The fall in the number of over-exploited units between 2024 and 2025 cannot, on these facts alone, be credited to the water-harvesting campaign.
  2. The estimated recharge from the campaign's structures is of the order of one per cent of a single year's national groundwater extraction.
  3. Since the national stage of extraction is well below 100%, demand-side curbs on groundwater pumping are unnecessary anywhere in India.
  4. The 2.43 BCM estimate establishes that water levels rose in observation wells located near the campaign's structures.
  • A. 2 and 4 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3 only

Q3. The Standing Committee on Water Resources (2023) linked over-pumping of groundwater to the incentives farmers face. In a paddy-dominated block where extraction already exceeds the extractable resource, consider the following measures: Which of the above would tend to lower the block's stage of extraction by curbing demand for groundwater?

  1. Raising the minimum support price of paddy relative to that of pulses and millets
  2. Replacing free, unmetered farm electricity with metered supply priced by use
  3. Promoting a shift to crops and cropping patterns that need less water
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q4. With reference to the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. CGWA was constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, following a direction of the Supreme Court.
  2. In States that have enacted their own groundwater laws, permission for groundwater extraction is granted by the State's designated authority rather than by CGWA.
  3. The periodic assessment of the country's dynamic groundwater resources is carried out by CGWA, while CGWB's role is confined to issuing no-objection certificates for extraction.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q5. Consider the following assertion: In groundwater conservation, the Union government acts largely as a facilitator, relying on campaigns, advice and funding rather than on direct nationwide legislation. Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

  1. The Central Ground Water Authority issues no-objection certificates for groundwater extraction by industries and infrastructure projects.
  2. Groundwater laws in many States are modelled on a Bill circulated by the Centre, not on a law enacted by Parliament for the whole country.
  3. Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari grew out of a State government's water-harvesting initiative that the Union Ministry then launched jointly with that State.
  • A. 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. With reference to artificial groundwater recharge measures promoted under Catch the Rain, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Desilting ponds and tanks can raise recharge because accumulated silt impedes the seepage of water through their beds.
  2. Unused borewells can be adapted to channel rainwater down into aquifers.
  3. Aquifer maps prepared under the National Aquifer Mapping programme help decide where recharge structures will be effective.
  4. Recharge pits work equally well at any site because rainwater infiltrates at the same rate whatever the underlying geology.
  • A. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3 only

Q7. With reference to the funding of Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. As a convergence campaign, it has no budget of its own and pools money from existing schemes, Finance Commission grants, state schemes and CSR.
  2. Under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016, all the money collected from a State is credited to the National Fund, which then reallocates it among States.
  3. CAMPA funds are meant to add to, and not to replace, a State's normal spending on forests.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q8. Under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, which of the following best describes the legislative placement of 'water' (water supplies, irrigation, drainage and water storage)?

  • A. A Union List entry, with States legislating only on matters delegated to them by Parliament
  • B. A State List entry, with no Union power over any river or river valley in the country
  • C. A State List entry, made subject to Union power over inter-State rivers declared by Parliament
  • D. A Concurrent List entry, with Union law prevailing over State law in case of any repugnancy